Scaffold.



W. C. GAW.

SGAPPOLD.

2 1910. 1,018,043. Peeentea Feb. 2o, 1912. a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. C. GW. s APPoLDf APPLIGTIN FILED AUG. 29, 1910.

l 1,018,043. A Patented Feb. 2o, 1912,

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. Juarez-dar W WMM INGTON, D C` e W. C. GAW.

' SGAFPOLD. APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 29, 1910.

Patented Feb. 2o, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WILLIAM C. GAW, OF CLEVELAND, OI-IIO.

SCAFFOLD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led August 29, 1910.

Patented Feb. 20, 1912.

serial No. 579,521.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM C. GAw, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Scaifolds, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a painter-s swinging scaffold and has for itsobject to provide a device of this class which shall be very light andeasily transportable and at the same time be strong, easily adjustable,eiiicient, and inexpensive. Such a device ought to employ ladders,planks and other simple materials such as every painter nec` essarilypossesses and avoid the necessity of buying and transporting other heavyand cumbersome apparatus. My system aims to utilize these articles totheir full capacity and to employ in addition thereto only a smallnumber of simple and inexpensive parts.

One embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, although it will be understood that such illustration isdescriptive merely and not a limitation, as many of the parts can bevaried and still be within the scope of my invention.

In those drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of my complete scaffoldin operative position against the wall of a house; Fig. 2 is an enlargedview of the suspension and bracket; Fig. 3 a detail view of thesupporting hook and a section of the suspension; Fig. l a detail view ofthe suspension; Fig. 5 a view showing the method of lengthening thepole; Fig. 6 a detail view of a part of the bracket; Fig. 7 a view ofthe bracing strut and its connection with the ladder; Fig. 8 a crosssection on the line 8-8 of FigjG; and Figs 9 and 10 are details.

Referrings more particularly to the drawings and to the referencenumerals thereon 1 1 represent ladders of the ordinary or any approvedtype inclined against the side of a house and carrying suspensionmembers 10 near their upper ends, to which suspension members poles 2Oare attached. These poles hang in a vertical position at a convenientdistancefrom the wall of the build ing being braced against swaying bystruts 30 suitably secured to said ladders, and

The suspension means comprises iron rods 2, 2 pivoted at one end to ametal plate 3 and bent at the other end to form outwardly turned hooks4L adapted to be engaged with the side rails of a ladder, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2. These rods may be conveniently secured to the plate bybending them to a,

right angle at their ends as at 5 and passing them through perforationsin said plate, retaining them in place by a cover 6 bolted thereto andsuitably spaced therefrom as by bosses 7. However, this connection mightcomprise merely the upsetting of the ends 5 and the omission of cover 6,and I consider such a modification as within the scope of my invention.This plate is formed with a depending projection 8 having an elongatedslot 9 for the attachment of the pole 20.

The pole 20 carries at its upper end a hook member 11 preferably formedwith two parallel depending plates 12 between which the pole is secured,which plates are connected at their upper ends by a central web 13adapted to be inserted in a saw scarf in the end of the pole for greatersecurity. At 'the top this member carries a hook proper 14 adapted toengage the slot in plate 8. The upper part of the hook is preferablyformed with a notch 15 slightly wider than the plate as shown in Fig. 8.This construction allows the suspension member to be attached to the topof the pole and hoisted into position, thus avoiding the necessity ofsending a man up the ladder, since if the pole carrying the hook bevertically lifted, the hook will leave the lower portion of the slot andmove upwardly therein, the edges of the notch 15 embracing plate S. Theshape of hook and slot prevents the plate'from falling over sidewise,and the edges of the notch hold it against falling forward or backward.The member 11 is also provided with a perforated lug 16 for theattachment of one pulley block 60.

The bracket consists of two side pieces 17 and 18 adapted to be securedtogether so as nearly to surround the pole, an arm 19 pivoted theretoand extending at about right angles therefrom and a brace 21 pivotedbelow said arm and adapted to support it in any one of several positionsby means of a bolt passed through one of the holes 22. Each of the sidepieces 1T and 18 comprises a straight flat bar 23 substantially half thewidth of the pole and carrying at its lower end a guiding plate 2ladapted to slide against one side of the pole, and having at its upperend a flat plate 25 covering the whole side of the pole and having a lip2G bent around to engage and partially cover the rear face of the pole.rl he two side pieces 17 and 18 are oppositely symmetrical and areadapted to embrace and slidably engage the pole when assembled andfastened together by bolts or rivets 27 passing through cooperatingperforated lugs 28 and 29 formed on the bars 23. At their upper ends thebars 9.3 are provided with perforated lugs 3l sufliciently removed fromthe abutting edges of the bars to allow the eye of a pulley block G0 tobe bolted therebetween as shown in Fig. 2. Bosses 32 may be formed onthe side pieces to prevent binding.

The arm 19 is preferably made of a bar of T iron and may'conveniently beattached by pivoting the vertical flange thereof between the lugs 28which are slightly separated for this purpose, shown in Figs. 2 and 6.This flange may be cut away short of the other end of the arm and thehorizontal flange turned up as at 33 to prevent the plank from slidingoff. The brace 21 is conveniently formed of two pieces of angle ironpivoted on opposite sides of the lugs 29 by a single bolt and attachedto opposite sides of the vertical flange of the arm 19 by another bolt.Immediately above this arm the side plates 25 are extended to form lugs3l between which a cam 35 is pivoted, said cam having a serrated face 86for engaging the pole and a handle 37 for operating the same. I haveshown the handle as provided with a notch 3S for receiving the j toe ofthe workmans boot, though other forms may obviously be employed.

At intervals along its rear surface the pole 20 is provided withscrew-eyes 39 or the like to which the strut 30 may be connected bymeans of a hook 41 attached to the end thereof. This strut extends fromthe pole in an approximately horizontal position to its engagement withthe ladder as shown in Figs. 1 and 7. This engagement with the ladder Iprefer to effect by the means shown in Figs. 7 and 9, in which a plateLl2 carries down-turned hooks lf3 at each end adapted to engage the rungof a ladder, and also carries a channel piece tat on its upper surfacethrough which the strut extends and in which it may be clamped by meansof the cam e5.

I form the lower end of the pole 2O with a joint such as is shown inFig. 5 in order that the pole may conveniently be lengthened, and toavoid the necessity of handling long poles. At the top of each ladder Imay employ feet 4G attached thereto in any convenient manner to affordmore space between the scaffold and the building.

In operation the ladders are set in an inclined position against thewall of a building, the suspension bracket 10 is attached to the topof-pole 20 and elevated into position, the struts are adjustedpreferably within reach of the ground, the brackets 10 slipped over thelower ends of the poles, the plank 50 laid thereon, and the wholeelevated to position by means of the block and tackle. 1When at theproper height the painters take their places thereon, care being takento see that the cams 35 are engaged. There is no need of securing thetackle 61, as the cam alone offers perfect security. When t-he surface,readily accessible from the scaffold, has been covered, one workmantakes his stand at each pole, releases cam 35 with his foot, andoperates the platform the desired distance. In case only one man ispresent, he can operate the device by lowering the ends alternately byshorter steps.

If the house has a projecting cornice or over-hanging eaves, the laddersmay be supported directly thereagainst and still allow room for theworkmen between them and the wall. If not, the feet e6 at the upper endsof the ladders must be employed. In order to further separate theplatform from the wall I also prefer to incline the hook member 11carried by t-he pole, as shown in Figs. 2 and In case the surface to bepainted is not vertical, the struts may be adj usted to hold the polesin an inclined position parallel to the surface, and the arm 19 of thebracket l() adjusted to hold the platform level. This feature isparticularly desirable in connection with a Mansard roof, since itpermits ready access to all parts of the sharply sloping lower sectionthereof.

In case the wall is too high for a single pole to reach, other poles maybe joined thereto and the whole wall painted without moving the ladders.If found desirable, several struts may be used to brace the poles atdifferent points, but it is usually sufficient to employ only one,keeping it rather close to the ground. Any number of ladders and polescan be employed at one time, suitably spaced apart and covering thewhole side of a building with a single setting.

Another advantage of my invention is that it requires no base supportnear the building, thus adapting the scaffold for use above piazzaroofs, and in locations, where steps, depressed windows, or shrubberyimpede the employment of other devices. A further advantage of thisinclination is that it brings the point of support more directly abovethe heads of the workmen, and acts, in

conjunction with their weight to render the pole vertical.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. A swingingscaffold comprising in combination a ladder adapted to be inclinedagainst a wall, a straight rigid member adapted to be attached to theside rails of said ladder at their upper ends and to depend therefrom,rigid means adapted to connect the lower portion of said dependingmember with laterally separated portions of said ladder to preventswaying of said depending member and to hold the same parallel to thesaid wall, a bracket adapted to be slidably mounted upon said rigiddepending member, and to support a platform, means for adjusting theposition of said bracket, and means for retaining said bracket inadjusted position.

'2. A swinging scaifold comprising in combination, a ladder adapted tobe inclined against a wall, a straight rigid member, a supporting membercarried by said rigid member and having an inclined shank terminating ina downturned hook, a suspending member adapted to be attached to saidladder and having an opening adapted to receive said hook, a rigid braceadapted to connect a lower portion of said rigid member with acorresponding portion of said ladder, a bracket adapted to be slidablymounted upon said rigid member and to support a platform, means foradjusting the position of said bracket, and means for retaining saidbracket in adjusted position.

3. A swinging scaffold comprising -in combination a ladder adapted to beinclined against a wall, a plate having means by which it can besuspended from said ladder and having an elongated. vertical slot, astraight rigid member having a hook at its upper end adapted to takeinto the lower part of said slot, said hook being adapted to engage andsecurely hold said plate by engagement with the upper part of said slot,and means slidably adjustable upon said rigid member for supporting aplatform.

4. A swinging scaffold comprising in combination a ladder adapted to beinclined against a wall, a plate having out-turned hooks adapted to beengaged with the side rails of said ladder, and having an elongatedvertical slot, a straight rigid member having a hook at its upper endadapted to take into said slot, said hook having a notch in its uppersurface adapted to engage and 'securely hold said plate, and meansslidably adjustable upon said rigid member for supporting a platform.

5. A swinging scaffold comprising in combination a ladder adapted to beinclined against a wall and having a foot'at its upper end adapted tospace the same from said wall, a straight rigid. member having a hook atone end, said hook havingv an inclined shank whereby 1t is offset fromsaid rlgld 4member, a plate adapted to be supported ably mounted uponsaid rigid member and' to support a platform, means for adjust-ing theposition of said bracket, and means for retaining said bracket inadjusted position.

6. A swinging scaffold comprising in combination a straight rigid memberadapted to be supported in an upright position adjacent and parallel tothe wall of a building, laterally projecting attaching means carried bysaid rigid member at a point below the upper end thereof, a rigid braceadapted to be att-ached to said attaching means and to extend laterallytherefrom, a bracket adapted to be slidably carried by said rigidmember, said bracket comprising side pieces adapted to partiallysurround said rigid member, said side pieces being spaced apart asulicient distance to permit them to be slid past said attaching means,means for attaching said side pieces together, an arm pivoted to saidside pieces, a brace pivoted to said side pieces at a point below saidarm and supporting the same, a cam pivoted between said side pieces andadapted to engage said rigid member, a pulley block attached to saidside pieces, and a second pulley block attached at the top of said rigidmember and adapted to coperate with said first-mentioned pulley block. y

7 In a swinging scaffold, in combination, a metallic plate having anaperture, arms having right angle ends pivoted to said plate and havingout-turned hooks adapted to engage the side rails of a ladder, a coverplate spaced from said first plate and engaging the opposite side-ofsaid arms to prevent their disconnection from said first plate, astraight rigid member having a hook at one end adapted to take into saidaperture, a bracket adapted to be slidably mounted upon said rigidmember, means for adjusting the position of said bracket, and means forretaining said bracket in adjusted position.

8. A swinging scaffold comprising, in combination, a ladder adapted tobe inclined against a wall, a straight rigid member adapted to beattached to said ladder at its upper end and to depend therefrom, abrace adapted to be attached to said rigid member near its lower end, anadjustable clamp carried by said brace and having a pair of separatedhooks adapted to engage a rung of said ladder near the side railsthereof whereby side-swaying of said rigid member may be prevented, andmeans slidably adjustable upon said rigid member for supporting aplatform.

9. A swinging scaiold comprising, in combination, a supporting memberadapted to be inclined against a Wall, a straight rigid member adaptedto be attached to said supporting member and to depend therefrom, abracket adapted to be slidably mounted upon said straight rigid memberand having side plates and lips partially surrounding the same, a braceadapted to be attached to said supporting member, attaching meanscarried by said straight rigid member in the part not surrounded by saidbracket and adapted to receive said brace, and means for retaining saidbracket in adjusted position upon said rigid member.

l0. In a swinging scaffold, in combination, a metallic plate having anaperture,

arms pivoted to said plate and having outturned hooks adapted to engagethe side rails of a ladder, means limiting the outward swinging of saidarms, a straight rigid member having a hook at one end adapted to takeinto said aperture, said hoo-k being so formed as to securely engagesaid plate, a bracket adapted to be slidably mounted upon said rigidmember, means for adjusting the position of said bracket, and means forretaining said bracket in adjusted position.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiX my signature in the presence of twoWitnesses.

WILLIAM C. GAVV. itnessesz HAROLD E. SMITH, vOLIVER M. KAPPLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

